London city committee recommends lower tax increase than expected for homeowners

London’s corporate services committee (CSC) is endorsing some tax savings for London homeowners.

CSC chair and Coun. Josh Morgan says the average property in London should see a 2.7 per cent increase, but taxes are distributed differently among residential, farm, commercial and industrial classes.

“For a residential homeowner, who would’ve been expecting to face, on average, a 2.7 per cent increase, they are actually going to face a 1.2 per cent increase because of, essentially, two things,” said Morgan.

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“One, we’re using our tax ratios to adjust things. Two, the property values of residential homes are not increasing as fast as, say, commercial entities.”

Morgan says the city’s favourable position when it comes to education taxes allows them to find some relief for residents through tax ratios and targeted relief.

“I can tell you the previous council — by previous council I mean two councils ago — targeted a large proportion of those benefits towards the industrial and commercial classes to the disadvantage of the residential classes, and so that’s being balanced out over time,” he explained.

Morgan says exactly how much more a homeowner will pay this year is dependent on how much their property value is increasing.

Multi-residential properties, for example, will face a 1.6 per cent increase, while commercial properties face a 4.5 per cent hike. Morgan says that larger-than-expected increase is due in part to the way those properties have appreciated.

The property tax rates still require final approval from the full council.